BOA's new Unlimited Cash Rewards: 2.62% cashback with BOA acct. Best card now?

[FIREin2018]

Base rate: 1.5% cashback but has 3% Foreign transaction fee

If you have a BOA Preferred Rewards bank acct, it can be up to 2.62% cashback:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/increasing-preferred-rewards-with-credit-cards/

2.62% @ Platinum tier: Need $100k but money in Merrill Lynch brokerage also counts.

2.62% is the highest cash back credit card i've seen.
Anything better?

Downside to having your $ at BOA/Merrill?

[dividendman]

Base rate: 1.5% cashback but has 3% Foreign transaction fee

If you have a BOA Preferred Rewards bank acct, it can be up to 2.62% cashback:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/increasing-preferred-rewards-with-credit-cards/

2.62% @ Platinum tier: Need $100k but money in Merrill Lynch brokerage also counts.

2.62% is the highest cash back credit card i've seen.
Anything better?

Downside to having your $ at BOA/Merrill?

That's my go-to card. It also has some other perks like $100 on airline incidentals per year which I use. There is a yearly fee though, $95 I believe.

[therethere]

For straight rewards I'd probably say the US Bank Alt Reserve is your best bet. It's 3% back on Google Pay and Mobile Payments, travel, and restaurants. Plus you get a 1.5x adder when redeeming for travel through real time rewards. It's effectively 4.5% cashback for the majority of your spend. I've found almost all stores now have the Google/Apple wallet tap to pay. For online purchases, just choose to pay through Google Pay whenever available. To cash out you book a refundable airline ticket, get reimbursed with points immediately through real time rewards (with the 50% adder), and then cancel the tickets for a full refund.  Easiest cashout I've experienced other than Chase Reserves PYB during 2020.

It's got effectively a $150 AF, (450 - 300 travel rebates). But I'd say the extra rewards even it out. Pair that with a straight 1.5-2% back card for the rest of your spend.

EDIT: I've got to partially redact the above. I mistakenly thought I was earning 3% at restaurants, but I just checked my statement and that wasn't the case. You still do earn 3% on mobile pay and travel, but I suppose to optimize you need to have a secondary card.

[FIREin2018]

That's my go-to card. It also has some other perks like $100 on airline incidentals per year which I use. There is a yearly fee though, $95 I believe.

no annual fee:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/unlimited-cash-back-credit-card/

[FIREin2018]

For straight rewards I'd probably say the US Bank Alt Reserve is your best bet. It's 3% back on Google Pay and Mobile Payments, travel, and restaurants. Plus you get a 1.5x adder when redeeming for travel through real time rewards. It's effectively 4.5% cashback for the majority of your spend. I've found almost all stores now have the Google/Apple wallet tap to pay. For online purchases, just choose to pay through Google Pay whenever available. To cash out you book a refundable airline ticket, get reimbursed with points immediately through real time rewards (with the 50% adder), and then cancel the tickets for a full refund.  Easiest cashout I've experienced other than Chase Reserves PYB during 2020.

It's got effectively a $150 AF, (450 - 300 travel rebates). But I'd say the extra rewards even it out. Pair that with a straight 1.5-2% back card for the rest of your spend.

nice hack!

Does it give you lounge access for the rare times i fly?

[therethere]

You get 4 lounge passes a year plus can get a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit. I'm not sure how to redeem the lounge passes yet because I still keep a Chase Reserve.

[Scandium]

For straight rewards I'd probably say the US Bank Alt Reserve is your best bet. It's 3% back on Google Pay and Mobile Payments, travel, and restaurants. Plus you get a 1.5x adder when redeeming for travel through real time rewards. It's effectively 4.5% cashback for the majority of your spend. I've found almost all stores now have the Google/Apple wallet tap to pay. For online purchases, just choose to pay through Google Pay whenever available. To cash out you book a refundable airline ticket, get reimbursed with points immediately through real time rewards (with the 50% adder), and then cancel the tickets for a full refund.  Easiest cashout I've experienced other than Chase Reserves PYB during 2020.

It's got effectively a $150 AF, (450 - 300 travel rebates). But I'd say the extra rewards even it out. Pair that with a straight 1.5-2% back card for the rest of your spend.

EDIT: I've got to partially redact the above. I mistakenly thought I was earning 3% at restaurants, but I just checked my statement and that wasn't the case. You still do earn 3% on mobile pay and travel, but I suppose to optimize you need to have a secondary card.

Sounds similar to Chase Reserve.
https://account.chase.com/sapphire/reserve/benefits
3% cash back on dining and travel. Redeem for travel through chase at 1.5x rate. So 4.5% back. $550 fee - $300 travel credit (and $150 to peloton membership). I also have a chase freedom card with rotating 5% categories x 1.5 = 7.5% back. And an Ink card that give 3% (so 4.5%) on phone/internet so I keep just for autopay for those accounts.
We always take some form of travel so it's basically all 1.5x, but I suppose if one does not travel at all it's not as great.

The BoA card is decent, but not impressed enough to get that over my chase cards.

[therethere]

For straight rewards I'd probably say the US Bank Alt Reserve is your best bet. It's 3% back on Google Pay and Mobile Payments, travel, and restaurants. Plus you get a 1.5x adder when redeeming for travel through real time rewards. It's effectively 4.5% cashback for the majority of your spend. I've found almost all stores now have the Google/Apple wallet tap to pay. For online purchases, just choose to pay through Google Pay whenever available. To cash out you book a refundable airline ticket, get reimbursed with points immediately through real time rewards (with the 50% adder), and then cancel the tickets for a full refund.  Easiest cashout I've experienced other than Chase Reserves PYB during 2020.

It's got effectively a $150 AF, (450 - 300 travel rebates). But I'd say the extra rewards even it out. Pair that with a straight 1.5-2% back card for the rest of your spend.

EDIT: I've got to partially redact the above. I mistakenly thought I was earning 3% at restaurants, but I just checked my statement and that wasn't the case. You still do earn 3% on mobile pay and travel, but I suppose to optimize you need to have a secondary card.

Sounds similar to Chase Reserve.
https://account.chase.com/sapphire/reserve/benefits
3% cash back on dining and travel. Redeem for travel through chase at 1.5x rate. So 4.5% back. $550 fee - $300 travel credit (and $150 to peloton membership). I also have a chase freedom card with rotating 5% categories x 1.5 = 7.5% back. And an Ink card that give 3% (so 4.5%) on phone/internet so I keep just for autopay for those accounts.
We always take some form of travel so it's basically all 1.5x, but I suppose if one does not travel at all it's not as great.

The BoA card is decent, but not impressed enough to get that over my chase cards.

Yes, I can't quit my Chase Reserve so I currently have both. I keep it mainly to churn business cards for extra 50% on points and get an unlimited priority pass. When I'm not churning I'll use it for the restaurants along with the mobile spend on the US Bank Reserve. But I find the points harder to cash in since the travel portal is sometimes upcharging 10%+ or so or only showing better accommodations (I mainly travel cheap, budget airlines, and hostels/cheap hotels). US Bank Reserve doesn't make you use a portal and you can effectively just straight cash it out.

Are you still getting off on a peloten membership? I thought that expired a year or two ago. I still pay for the $15 a month one  so I'd be interested in getting credits.

[Scandium]

For straight rewards I'd probably say the US Bank Alt Reserve is your best bet. It's 3% back on Google Pay and Mobile Payments, travel, and restaurants. Plus you get a 1.5x adder when redeeming for travel through real time rewards. It's effectively 4.5% cashback for the majority of your spend. I've found almost all stores now have the Google/Apple wallet tap to pay. For online purchases, just choose to pay through Google Pay whenever available. To cash out you book a refundable airline ticket, get reimbursed with points immediately through real time rewards (with the 50% adder), and then cancel the tickets for a full refund.  Easiest cashout I've experienced other than Chase Reserves PYB during 2020.

It's got effectively a $150 AF, (450 - 300 travel rebates). But I'd say the extra rewards even it out. Pair that with a straight 1.5-2% back card for the rest of your spend.

EDIT: I've got to partially redact the above. I mistakenly thought I was earning 3% at restaurants, but I just checked my statement and that wasn't the case. You still do earn 3% on mobile pay and travel, but I suppose to optimize you need to have a secondary card.

Sounds similar to Chase Reserve.
https://account.chase.com/sapphire/reserve/benefits
3% cash back on dining and travel. Redeem for travel through chase at 1.5x rate. So 4.5% back. $550 fee - $300 travel credit (and $150 to peloton membership). I also have a chase freedom card with rotating 5% categories x 1.5 = 7.5% back. And an Ink card that give 3% (so 4.5%) on phone/internet so I keep just for autopay for those accounts.
We always take some form of travel so it's basically all 1.5x, but I suppose if one does not travel at all it's not as great.

The BoA card is decent, but not impressed enough to get that over my chase cards.

Yes, I can't quit my Chase Reserve so I currently have both. I keep it mainly to churn business cards for extra 50% on points and get an unlimited priority pass. When I'm not churning I'll use it for the restaurants along with the mobile spend on the US Bank Reserve. But I find the points harder to cash in since the travel portal is sometimes upcharging 10%+ or so or only showing better accommodations (I mainly travel cheap, budget airlines, and hostels/cheap hotels). US Bank Reserve doesn't make you use a portal and you can effectively just straight cash it out.

Are you still getting off on a peloten membership? I thought that expired a year or two ago. I still pay for the $15 a month one  so I'd be interested in getting credits.

No, you're right, the peloton subscription credit is no longer active. I thought they extended it some, but regardless it's over now. Bummer. They do give credit for the airport security shakedown/fastpast thing. (PreCheck?). I wouldn't have paid for that racket so I don't count it, but it's a nice extra perk. Unfortunately it's pretty useless when traveling with my wife (i.e. most of the time) and she don't have it.